Etro

Today, the name Etro conjures a vision of poetic, sophisticated designs and enlightened, colorful collections including the men's, women's, accessories, home, and fragrance collections. It also brings to mind a family consisting of two generations of innovators - the Etro family.

Founded in Milan in 1968 by Gimmo Etro, the company is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary and is looking towards the future with an optimism and irony akin to each member of the family-run house of Etro.

Now greatly diversified, yet still privately held, the company was impetus of Gimmo, who launched the company as a 'fashion textile publishing house' (textile design company.) Now, all responsibilities are shared with his children: Jacopo, Kean, Ippolito and Veronica.

Today, the company literally owns the fashion and retail niche for colorful, optimistic and witty collections and fashion insiders know it as 'the quintessential resource for luxurious fabrics with distinctive prints and embellishments'. Etro was the first modern textile house to look to the East for inspiration and the first to elect a cultural or artistic impetus for each line the company creates.

All divisions are represented by a member of the second generation as follows: Jacopo is the Home Collection and Textile Collections Designer; Kean is the Menswear Designer and Creative Director; Ippolito is the Chief Financial Officer; and Veronica is the Women's Collection Designer. Each contributes their individual sense of style, passion, and creativity cultivated while growing up Etro.

Jacopo, the oldest child, inherited his father's passion for textiles and went directly to work for the company in the textile division. Jacopo now heads the Fashion Textiles, Home Textiles, and Home Accessories divisions of Etro.

Kean is Etro's Creative Director and Men's Collection Designer. He joined Etro in 1982 as an intern, and worked in every division of the company including the warehouse. He developed Etro's Fragrance Collection, creates all advertising campaigns, and launched Etro's first Men's Collection followed by the first Women's Collection.

Ippolito found his creative niche at Etro in business administration. While obtaining his Masters in Economics at New York University, he set up Etro's wholesale and retail offices in the United States; then returned to Italy to head up the financial division of the company.

Veronica, the youngest, assumed her natural place in the company as Women's Collection Designer. After graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, Veronica was briefly at Clements Riberio, then served apprenticeship at Etro alongside Kean. Spring 2000 marked her inauguration as head designer of the Women's Collection.

Since Etro's inception in 1968 as a fashion textile house, diversification and growth has been a natural evolution. In 1981, the company expanded into home textiles; in 1983, accessories (scarves, ties and shawls); in 1984, handbags and , suitcases, as well as the first Etro boutique. Since 1985 to the present, Etro has added a Fragrance Collection, Men's and Women's Collections, Footwear and Eyewear Collections and boutiques in Paris, Rome, New York, London, Berlin, Florence, Tokyo, Kuwait, Moscow, Bologna and Madrid. In April 2004, Etro will open in Los Angeles, California.

If there is a common thread that runs from the first paisley textiles to the collections and boutiques which have become all that is Etro, it would be this: every design is conceived and embraced as an authentic piece of art with a spirit of fun and elegance. This is the essence of Etro.